Ponta de São Lourenço. 🌋 Red cliffs at the end of Madeira

Ponta de São Lourenço is a narrow peninsula, approx. 9 kilometres long, at the eastern tip of Madeira. It looks completely different from the rest of the island: instead of laurel forests there are red, brown and yellow cliffs, low vegetation and the ocean on both sides. The climate is semi-arid, and the northerly winds mean that trees hardly grow here. The whole peninsula is a protected area (Natura 2000, part of Madeira Natural Park), and the PR8 Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço trail runs through the middle of it.

I took the photos in this guide at Ponta de São Lourenço in November 2023. I checked the prices, booking rules, bus timetable and information about the works in official sources in October 2026. The links are next to each piece of information and at the end of the guide.

I didn’t walk the whole trail to Casa do Sardinha: I went onto the peninsula by jeep. I was surprised how steep it is here and how hot, and that was in November. The terrain is completely exposed, so there’s nowhere to hide from the sun.

PR8 tickets and booking

Since 1 January 2026, trails managed by IFCN have required a fee and a booking. For PR8 you have to book your entry in advance on the SIMplifica portal and choose a time, online only (the time slot has a tolerance of approx. 15 minutes). Registration also applies to people exempt from the fee: children under 12, Madeira residents and people with a disability of 60% or more with a carer (IFCN FAQ).

• Price: €4.50 per person per trail. If you walk two or more trails in a day, the system automatically charges the €9 day rate (there are also 3-day passes for €22.50 and 7-day passes for €52.50). You still have to book each trail separately.
• Refunds: you only get your money back if IFCN officially closes the trail. Rain or a change of plans isn’t a reason for a refund.
• Checks: the forest police carry out spot checks. Walking without paying can get you a €50–250 fine, in practice €50 paid on the spot (DLR n.º 2/2025/M, DNoticias, 13 May 2026). For entering a closed trail: €250–2500.

Read nextMadeira hiking trail ticketsBooking in SIMplifica step by step, with screenshots.

What the PR8 trail is like

The trail starts by the car park and bus stop at Baía d’Abra, at the end of the ER214 road. The path rolls up and down: first it drops gently, then climbs and descends several times, and the highest point of the route (126 m) is roughly halfway. Along the way you pass viewpoints over the cliffs on both sides of the peninsula and its narrowest point, where you can see vertical veins of solidified magma (dykes) in the rocks.

The trail ends at Casa do Sardinha, a former holiday house that is now the protected area’s reception centre, and at the small Cais do Sardinha jetty. Beyond them, at the very tip of the peninsula, are two islets: Ilhéu do Desembarcadouro and Ilhéu do Farol. Both are strictly protected and you’re not allowed onto them.

• Water and food: according to IFCN, there has been a bar at Casa do Sardinha since 2019, but no opening hours are published anywhere and it’s not clear whether it’s open out of season (IFCN). Bring your own water and snacks.
• Toilets: the official board shows toilets at Casa do Sardinha. There are none at the start.
• Swimming: you can get into the water at Cais do Sardinha, but it isn’t a supervised bathing spot and there are no lifeguards.
• The hill behind Casa do Sardinha isn’t part of the official PR8 route. If the way up is closed when you’re there, don’t go up.
• Camping: there’s an IFCN campsite at Cais do Sardinha, with a permit through SIMplifica, €5 per tent per night (IFCN).

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1: Rocks in the ocean off Ponta de São Lourenço (2023), 2: The cliffs of Ponta de São Lourenço (2023), 3: The ocean below the cliffs of Ponta de São Lourenço (2023), 4: Red layers of rock in the cliffs of Ponta de São Lourenço, November 2023. Photos: Ewelina Podrez-Siama

Nature and geology

Ponta de São Lourenço is volcanic in origin. In the cliffs you can see layers of lava and pyroclastic material (volcanic bombs, lapilli, ash) cut through by vertical dykes, which the sea has exposed by wearing away the softer rock. That’s why the cliffs have so many colours. The regional geology portal has produced a separate guide to PR8 (Roteiro de Geodiversidade).

Around 160 plant species grow on the peninsula, and some of them are Madeiran endemics found nowhere else. It’s also an important refuge for birds: protected seabirds nest here, and the Desembarcadouro islet has one of the largest gull colonies in the region. In the ocean, with a bit of luck, you might see dolphins and the Mediterranean monk seal, the rarest seal in the world (IFCN, protected area).

How to get to Ponta de São Lourenço

The route 702 timetable on the SIGA website dates from 2024. The times didn’t change when the routes were renumbered in March 2026, but check the current timetable before you go. According to it, the buses that go all the way to Baía d’Abra run like this:

When to walk PR8

• Time of day: morning is best. It’s cooler, usually less windy, and the car parks aren’t full yet. You need to finish the trail before dark.
• Time of year: IFCN recommends PR8 all year round. According to model data for the area, July and August are the driest months, September and October the least windy, and the most strong gusts occur from December to March.
• In winter the days are short: in December the sun sets at around 18:00, and the last bus from Baía d’Abra on Sundays leaves at 18:15.
• In bad weather IFCN closes all the trails, as it did on 3 March 2026 because of strong wind. Check the trail status and the forecast before you set off.

What to see nearby

• Miradouro da Ponta do Rosto: a roadside viewpoint approx. 2.7 km before Baía d’Abra. From here you can see the cliffs of the peninsula, Machico, Porto da Cruz and, in good weather, even Porto Santo.
• Nossa Senhora da Piedade chapel: a 16th-century chapel on a volcanic cone above Prainha beach, looking out to the Desertas Islands. Its annual religious festival takes place on the third weekend of September.
• Prainha: one of the few natural sandy beaches in Madeira, with dark sand. There are lifeguards in season; in 2026 from 30 June to 27 September (Portaria n.º 206/2026).
• Museu da Baleia in Caniçal: the whale museum, tickets €15 (children 6–11 €7.50), open Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00, ideally arrive by 16:30 at the latest (museum prices).

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FAQ: Ponta de São Lourenço

Read nextMadeira trail statusWhich trails are open today, what they cost and how booking works.